In case you’re in a hurry, here’s the express version of this story: – African-American teen killed by a white cop; – Grand jury won’t indict, cop walks free; – Family wins wrongful death lawsuit; – Taxpayers lay out $3.9 million to pay for their killer cops on the loose. Read, repeat. And now, the [...]

Earlier today in Ottawa an unidentified gunman shot and killed a Canadian soldier before entering the Canadian Parliament building and opening fire. Parliament was in session and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was evacuated as law enforcement exchanged gunfire with the assailant who was subsequently killed.

It happened again. Another shooting, this one in Las Vegas, has claimed the lives of three victims as well as the two shooters who committed suicide. The shooters shot themselves after killing two police officers in a pizzeria and a woman at a nearby Walmart. The motive for killing the police officers seems to be political with one of the shooters yelling “This is the start of a revolution” before the shooting began.

Another day, another mass shooting in America. The latest one was at Seattle Pacific University and has left four people shot and one dead. The shooter, 26 year-old Aaron Ybarra, is said to have been obsessed with the Columbine School Shooting, even visiting the site of the massacre.

Daniel Hernandez does a remarkable job of taking us inside that day his boss, Rep. Gabby Giffords was shot, a day none of us would hope to be inside of, ever. He recalls his specific feelings and frustrations at being at the absolute center of the event, but knowing little about its outcome. And then, in an avalanche of media attention, he describes how he undertook an overwhelming 215 interviews by the day of the memorial service in Tucson. There he met President Obama and the First Lady. There his iconic media status was cemented by that hug from the President, who said to him, moments after announcing to a cheering crowd that he had just come from Gabby Giffords’ hospital bedside, where she’d opened her eyes for the first time: “And, Daniel, I’m sorry, you may deny it, but we’ve decided you are a hero, because you ran through the chaos to minister to your boss and tended to her wounds and helped keep her alive.”

Thus began the journey of a young man who became an icon for so many: a gay, Hispanic student intern who ran toward danger to save a Congresswoman shot in the line of duty and ended up sitting with the First Lady at the State of the Union

According to multiple reports, neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman will be charged this afternoon in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. Special prosecutor Angela Corey will make the announcement. There is no word yet on what charge Zimmerman will face, either second-degree murder or manslaughter. Corey could not file first-degree murder charges because she did not impanel a grand jury, a requirement for that charge in Florida.